Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley: Meet The Indian-Americans In 2024 US Presidential Bid

After Nikki Haley, another Indian-American, Vivek Ramaswamy announced his run for the 2024 US presidential election.

Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley: Meet The Indian-Americans In 2024 US Presidential Bid

New Delhi: The upcoming Presidential Elections in the United States are expected to be dominated by contenders of Indian origin. After Nikki Haley, another Indian-American, Vivek Ramaswamy announced his run for the 2024 US presidential election.

With Ramaswamy's entry into the presidential race, the United States will have two Indian faces in the upcoming polls.

Who is Nikki Haley?

Haley was born as Nimrata Nikki Randhawa in Bamberg, South Carolina in 1972 to Sikh parents, who emigrated from Punjab to Canada and then to the US in the 1960s.

Haley's father was formerly a professor at Punjab Agricultural University, and her mother received her law degree from the University of Delhi. She holds an accounting degree from Clemson University. 

Haley worked for FCR Corporation, a waste management and recycling company, before joining her family’s clothing business, Exotica International, in 1994. She was named to the board of directors of the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce in 1998.

Haley became treasurer of the National Association of Women Business Owners in 2003 and president in 2004. She also served on the Lexington Medical Foundation, Lexington County Sheriff’s Foundation, and West Metro Republican Women.

At 39, she was the youngest governor in the US when she took office in January 2011 and made history as South Carolina's first female governor. She was also the state's first Indian-American governor and would go on to serve for two terms.

From January 2017 to December 2018, she served as the 29th US ambassador to the United Nations.

She married Michael Haley, a commissioned officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard, in 1996. The couple has a daughter, Rena, and a son, Nalin.

Who is Vivek Ramaswamy?

Ramaswamy, the 37-year-old entrepreneur, was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. According to the New Yorker, his father worked as an engineer and a patent attorney at General Electric. His mother was a geriatric psychiatrist. 

Speaking about his early life, Ramaswamy whose parents immigrated from Kerala to the United States said, "I grew up in Ohio in the 90’s as a skinny kid with nerdy glasses and a funny last name. My parents taught me that if you’re going to stand out, then you might as well be outstanding. Achievement was my ticket to get ahead. I went on to found multi-billion-dollar companies. And I did it while getting married – raising a family and following my faith in God."

Ramaswamy holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Harvard University. He also holds a law degree from Yale Law School. He got into the business of creating medicines and was also investing in biotech, according to Lifestyle Asia.

He is a former biotechnology executive and the best-selling author of "Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam," which was published in August 2021. He has been dubbed "the CEO of Anti-Woke, Inc." in a New Yorker magazine profile last year.

He also authored "Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence," which was published last year in September.

Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences in 2014 and also led the largest biotech IPOs of 2015 and 2016, eventually culminating in successful clinical trials in multiple disease areas that led to FDA-approved products, according to his bio.

In 2016, he was ranked 24th on the 'America's Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40 2016' list with a net worth of 600 million dollars.